Bush supporters in Paris

Weasel Watch

Jacques Chirac's popularity is on the wane, the Telegraph reports. "At their highest, the polls showed that M Chirac had the confidence of 75 per cent of French voters and more than 85 per cent backed his opposition to war in Iraq," but his support is now "back down to 53 per cent, around its pre-war level."

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports from Paris that "Two men attacked the director of a Paris theater Sunday, punching him and slashing his face, apparently because of a play he is staging that criticizes President Bush":

Attilio Maggiulli, director of the Theater of Italian Comedy, was attacked in the building's entrance on Sunday, said Claudine Simon, his assistant. One man held him down, while another cut his face. They also splashed paint on the theater's walls, she said.

It was unclear exactly what motivated the beating, said Simon, who said she found her employer bleeding in the entryway. But she said it may have been over the play the theater has been showing since Wednesday, titled "George W. Bush, or God's Sad Cowboy."

Simon suggested the assailants might have been offended by a poster showing a skull in a cowboy hat to represent Bush, or by a photo of an Afghan man that the theater showed as part of its publicity display.

"They said things like, "Oh, you're defending the Arabs," Simon said. They also insulted President Jacques Chirac.

Now, let's be clear: We don't approve of attacking anyone, including anti-American directors of French theaters. All the same, this is a good opportunity for Maggiulli to ponder what he might have done to provoke his attackers' rage. He should ask himself: Why do they hate me? While their methods are inexcusable, he might find they have some legitimate grievances.

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